Clip  of  Boston 


®n  tlje  fll^atl)  of 

^braljam  Ctncaln. 


LINCOLN  ROOM 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


«.v-',-.       I 


■    ■ 

•  ■ 


v-'f-  ■ 


■ 


H 


■ 

H 

fik  ■        ■ 


PROCEEDINGS 


CITY    COUNCIL    OF    BOSTON, 


APRIL  17,   1S155, 


ON  OCCASION  OF  THE   DEATH 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN, 


PRESIDENT   OF   THE    rSITED    STATES. 


BOSTON: 
PUBLISHED  r.Y  ORDER  OK  THE  CITY  COUNCIL. 

1805. 


Printed  by 
J.   E.  FAKWELL   &  COMPANY, 

'■I?  Congress  Street,  Boston. 


13.7LC  6 


dt25? 


CITY    OF    BOSTON. 


April  17,  1865. 

A  special  meeting  of  the  City  Council  of  Boston  was 
convened  at  twelve  o'clock  this  day,  by  order  of  His 
Honor,  Frederic  W.  Lincoln,  Jr.,  Mayor,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  expressing  their  respect  to  the  memory  of  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,  the  late  President  of  the  United  States. 

PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  ALDERMEN. 

There  were  present  at  this  meeting  the  Mayor  and  all 
the  Aldermen. 

The  Board  having  been  called  to  order  by  the  Mayor, 
he  spoke  as  follows  :  — 

To  the  Honorable  the  City  Council  :  — 

Gentlemen  :  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  expired  at  Washington  on 
the  morning  of  April  15,  between  the  hours  of 
seven  and  eight  o'clock.      The   death   of  one   so 


DEATH   OF   PRESIDENT   LINCOLN. 


distinguished,  whose  eminent  services  for  the  last 
four  years  have  heen  so  valuahlc  to  his  country, 
and  whose  individual  opinions  and  actions  were 
considered  so  vital  to  its  future  welfare,  has 
filled  the  nation's  heart  with  gloom.  In  the 
midst  of  the  jubilant  and  excited  feelings  of  a 
grateful  people,  bound  to  him  with  dearer  ties 
than  ever  before  in  his  career,  his  connec- 
tion with  them  has  been  suddenly  severed  by 
the  violent  hands  of  an  assassin.  The  fresh  joy 
of  the  recent  glorious  victories  of  our  armies, 
securing,  we  trusted,  peace  and  prosperity  to  a 
reunited  country,  has  unexpectedly  been  turned 
to  mourning. 

The  shouts  of  an  exultant  people  are  hushed, 
and  the  stern  discipline  of  sorrow  is  once  more 
to  test  their  character  and  to  prove  their  manhood. 
Called  to  the  Chief  Magistracy  of  the  nation  at 
a  time  of  unexampled  trial,  when  the  Union  of 


DEATH    OF    PRESIDENT    LINCOLN. 


our  fathers  was  threatened  with  disruption  by 
degenerate  sons,  the  loyal  spirit  of  the  country 
responded  time  and  time  again  to  his  patriotic 
appeals.  His  talents  and  his  practical  virtues 
seemed  to  develop  and  strengthen  with  the  new 
exigencies  which  called  for  their  exercise ;  and 
at  the  moment  when  success  was  crowning  our 
efforts  the  great  leader  was  summoned  away, 
and  his  office  and  its  great  trusts  fall  upon 
another. 

President  Lincoln's  career  will  ever  be  con- 
sidered as  one  of  the  best  illustrations  of  the 
character  and  nature  of  Republican  institutions. 
He  was  emphatically  a  man  of  the  people. 
Born  in  an  humble  condition,  he  was  never 
tempted  to  rise  by  a  sordid  ambition  for  place  ; 
but  yet  he  was  ever  ready  to  meet  public  re- 
sponsibilities, when  the  country  demanded  his 
services.      His  merits  as  a  statesman  and  patriot 


DEATH    OF    PRESIDENT    LINCOLN. 


have  been  tested  in  the  most  momentous  period 
in  the  history  of  the  Republic.  His  integrity 
and  worth  as  a  man  were  seldom  called  in 
question  while  he  lived,  and  now  that  he  has 
gone  his  memory  will  be  held  in  blessed  remem- 
brance by  his  countrymen,  and  especially  by  that 
race  whose  shackles  of  slavery  were  broken 
during  his  administration,  and  who  will  cherish 
his  name  as  that  of  their  great  Liberator. 

He  has  conducted  us  safely  through  the 
checkered  career  of  the  greatest  civil  war 
known  in  the  history  of  the  world  ;  and  at 
the  time  of  his  decease  his  clear  and  honest 
intellect  was  engaged  upon  those  great  and 
difficult,  problems  of  statesmanship  which,  after 
such  a  conflict  appertain  to  a  condition  of 
peace.  At  times  when  disaster  befell  our  arms, 
or  confusion  attended  our  councils,  and  the 
timid     were    disposed    to     give    up    in    despair, 


DEATH    OF    PRESIDENT    LINCOLN.  1  1 


his  faith  never  wavered  in  the  final  success  of 
the  cause  —  new  difficulties  aroused  new  ener- 
gies—  and,  relying  upon  the  patriotism  of  the 
people,  he  moved  on  with  a  resolute  will,  in 
the  work  which  Providence  had  placed  in  his 
hands    for    the    salvation    of   the    nation. 

The  great  responsibilities  of  his  position,  he 
bore  with  complacency  and  good  humor.  His 
physical  frame,  which  was  developed  in  early 
manhood,  fitted  him  for  the  unparalleled  labors 
of  his  public  trust  ;  and  his  tragic  death  was 
caused  by  that  fell  spirit  of  treason  and  dis- 
loyalty, which,  had  it  not  been  for  his  efforts, 
might  likewise  have  been  the  death  of  the 
nation. 

The  Republic  has  lost  its  chief  officer ;  — 
every  patriot  feels  that  he  has  lost  a  personal 
friend.  We  finite  beings  cannot  fathom  the 
wisdom   of  the  great  calamity.      He  that  ruleth 


DEATH   OF   PRESIDENT   LINCOLN.  13 


over  the  nations  of  the  earth  must  be  our 
abiding  trust.  To  the  family  of  the  late  Pres- 
ident, our  heartfelt  sympathies  and  condolence 
should  be  tendered. 

In  common  with  the  whole  nation,  this  com- 
munity joins  in  the  general  sorrow ;  and  in 
order  that  you  may  officially  take  that  public 
notice  of  the  event  which  the  occasion  de- 
mands, I  have  called  the  members  of  the  City 
Council   together   in    special    session. 

Your  wisdom  will  suggest  the  most  appro- 
priate manner  for  the  city  of  Boston  to  honor 
the    memory    of    the    distinguished   dead. 

F.   W.   LINCOLN,  Jr.,  Mayor. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  Mayor's  Address,  Alder- 
man George  W.  Messinger,  Chairman  of  the 
Board    spoke,    as    follows:  — 

It  is  with  no  ordinary  emotions,  Mr.  Mayor, 
that    I    rise    to    offer    the    resolutions    pertinent 


DEATH   OF   PRESIDENT   LINCOLN.  15 


to  this  occasion.  The  sudden  shock  which 
our  entire  community  experienced  at  the  re- 
ception of  the  astounding  reports  from  Wash- 
ington ;  the  mingled  feelings  of  grief,  of 
horror,  and  of  indignation,  have  scarcely  yet 
subsided ;  the  repose  and  reflections  incident 
to  the  Sabbath  may  have  served  to  calm  and 
tranquillize,  but  only  to  bring  forth  a  more 
realizing  sense  of  the  irreparable  loss  which 
the  nation  has  sustained  by  the  death  of  its 
Chief  Magistrate. 

At  the  very  time  when  the  rebellion  appears 
subdued,  when  the  days  of  battle  are  numbered 
and  the  horrors  of  war  are  to  give  way  to 
the  blessings  of  peace,  when  the  restoration  or 
reconstruction  of  our  glorious  Union  is  so  evi- 
dent, that  great  and  good  man,  at  the  head  of 
our  nation,  whose  sound  judgment  and  valuable 
counsels    were    so    much    relied    on,    is    stricken 


DEATH   OF    PRESIDENT   LINCOLN.  17 

down  by  the  hand  of  the  assassin.  Without 
further  comment,  I  now  submit  the  preamble 
and  resolutions  prepared  by  a  joint  committee 
of  the    City    Council :  — 

RESOLVES. 

Whereas,  in  the  Providence  of  God,  the  shadow 
of  a  great  grief  is  now  resting  on  the  people 
of  the  United  States,  in  the  sudden  death,  by 
the  hand  of  violence,  of  their  beloved  and  hon- 
ored Chief  Magistrate,  Abraham  Lincoln,  now 
officially  announced  to  the  City  Council  by  His 
Honor  the  Mayor,  therefore, 

Resolved,  1.  That  in  this  early  hour  of  the 
Nation's  bereavement  and  sorrow,  the  greatness 
of  our  loss  caunot  be  adequately  expressed  by 
words,  but  is  evinced  by  the  unspoken  and  unut- 
terable language  of  the  heart,  and  the  tears  of 
millions    of    our    loyal    countrymen,    telling    how 


DEATH    OF   riSESIDENT   LINCOLN.  19 


truly  and  affectionately  lie  who  was  from  the 
people,  and  loved  the  people,  was  loved  by 
them. 

2.  That  we  devoutly  thank  God  for  the  noble 
work  our  loved  and  honored  President  was  per- 
mitted to  do  for  the  nation,  guiding  it  with 
consummate  sagacity  and  skill  through  the  most 
difficult  epoch  of  its  existence ;  that  we  recog- 
nize especially  his  great  wisdom  and  foresight 
in  issuing  his  proclamation  of  Emancipation, 
which  will  entitle  him  to  the  gratitude  of  the 
lovers  of  liberty  throughout  the  world  in  all 
future  ages,  and  give  him  a  place  in  his  coun- 
try's fame  by  the  side  of  the  immortal  Wash- 
ington. 

3.  That  we  accord  to  the  family  of  our  late 
Chief  Magistrate  our  heartfelt  and  tender  sym- 
pathy in  their  irreparable  loss,  assuring  them 
that  we    cherish    as    one  of  our    country's  price- 


DEATH   OF   PRESIDENT   LINCOLN.  21 


less  legacies  the  memory  of  him  whom  the  nation 
mourns. 

■4.  That  the  atrocious  attempt  to  take  the 
life  of  our  Secretary  of  State,  the  Hon.  William 
H.  Seward,  and  the  assaults  on  the  members 
of  his  household,  have  excited  the  liveliest  in- 
terest for  his  preservation ;  and  we  trust  that 
his  life  may  long  be  spared,  and  his  valuable 
counsels    continue    to  benefit   his    country. 

5.  That  we  assure  President  Johnson  of  our 
cordial  support  in  the  great  task  devolved  upon 
him  by  this  horrible  crime,  entreating  him  to 
believe  that  the  nation  instructed  by  this  last 
bitter  experience,  will  sustain  the  Government 
more  unitedly  than  ever  in  vigorous  and  effec- 
tive measures  for  suppressing  a  wicked  and  un- 
natural rebellion,  in  meting  out  justice  to  all 
its  abettors,  and  securing  the  amplest  guaran- 
tees for  peace  in  all  coming  time  ;    trusting  that 


DEATH    OF    PRESIDENT    LINCOLN.  2'.\ 

he  will  not  pause  until  every  seed  of  its  pos- 
sible life  is  destroyed,  and  our  whole  country 
rests  on  the  sure  basis  of  full  and  impartial 
liberty. 

6.  That  as  a  proper  mark  of  respect,  Fan- 
euil  Hall  and  the  City  Hall  be  draped  in 
mourning  for  the  period  of  thirty  days,  and 
that  on  the  day  of  the  funeral  ceremonies  in 
Washington,  His  Honor,  the  Mayor  order  all 
public  offices,  schools  and  places  of  amusement 
to  be  closed,  and  request  an  entire  suspension 
of  business    on    the    part    of    our    citizens. 

7.  That  a  delegation  from  the  city  govern- 
ment, consisting  of  His  Honor,  Mayor  Lincoln, 
two  Aldermen,  the  President  and  three  members 
of  the  Common  Council,  attend  the  obsequies 
of   the  late  President  of  the  United  States. 

8.  That  a  eulogy  on  the  character  and 
services    of    Abraham    Lincoln    be     pronounced 


DEATH    OF   PRESIDENT   LINCOLN.  25 


before  the  city  government  at  an  early  day, 
and  that  a  joint  committee  be  appointed  to 
make    the    necessary    arrangements. 

9.  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent 
to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  the 
heads  of  the  different  departments  at  Washing- 
ton, and   the   family   of    the   deceased. 

The  passage  of  the  foregoing  resolutions  having 
been  advocated  by  Alderman  Nathaniel  C.  Nash, 
with  sonic  appropriate  remarks,  they  were  unan- 
imously adopted  by  the  Board,  each  member  rising 
in    his    place. 

The  Chair  having  appointed  Aldermen  John  S.  Tyler 
and  Charles  F.  Dana  as  a  Committee  in  behalf  of  this 
Board  to  attend  the  Funeral  Obsequies  in  Washington, 
and  Aldermen  George  W.  Messinger,  John  S.  Tyler, 
and  Thomas  Gaffield  upon  the  Committee  of  Arrange- 
ment for  a  Eulogy  on  the  deceased,  as  contemplated  in 
the  eighth  resolve,    said    resolutions  were   sent    down    to 


DEATH   OF  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN.  27 


the  Common  Council  for  concurrence,  and   the  Board   of 
Aldermen  then  adjourned. 
Attest : 

S.  F.  McCLEARY,  City  Clerk. 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  COMMON  COUNCIL. 

The  members  of  the  Common  Council  were  called  to 
order  by  their  President,  William  B.  Fowle,  Esq.,  who 
addressed  them  as  follows  :  — 

Gentlemen  of  the  Common  Council: 

Were  I  to  consult  ray  own  feelings  upon  this 
occasion,  I  should  indulge  in  speechless  sorrow ; 
but,  as  representatives  of  our  fellow-citizens,  it 
seems  proper  that  we  should  place  upon  record 
our  estimation  of  the  great  and  good  man  whose 
loss  the  nation  mourns. 

Words    are    but  feeble  instruments  to    express 


DEATH    OF    PRESIDENT    LINCOLN.  29 


deep  grief;  far  better  the  sympathizing  grasp 
of  the  hand  and  the  eye  glistening  with  the 
involuntary  tear. 

We  respected  Abraham  Lincoln  as  the  chief 
magistrate  of  our  country,  and  as  such  alone  we 
should  have  felt  sorrow  at  his  death,  but  we  are 
now  in  mourning  for  more  than  the  loss  of  the 
nation's  head. 

Our  country  needed  him.  The  marked  ability 
with  which  he  had  steadied  the  helm  through 
the  long  nigbt  of  civil  war,  until  the  dayspring 
of  peace  seemed  fairly  opening  to  our  vision,  had 
taught  us  to  look  to  him  as  the  guiding  star 
under  whose  benignant  auspices  all  troubles  were 
to  cease.  But  deeper  seated  than  even  this  is 
our  grief  to-day. 

He  was  cut  off  by  a  dastardly  act  in  the  midst 
of  such  usefulness  as  it  has  rarely  been  the   lot 


DEATH    OF    PRESIDENT    LINCOLN.  31 


of  man  to  experience.  We  lament  the  cruel 
manner  of  his  death,  and  our  grief  deepens  at 
the  thought  that  for  us  and  in  our  service  he 
died.  But  even  this  does  not  sufficiently  account 
for  the  gloom  which  rests  upon  us. 

Beyond  the  magistrate  whose  ability  we  re- 
spected, beyond  the  victim  of  the  assassin,  who 
died  for  us  and  whose  untimely  fate  we  deplore, 
beyond  the  loss  of  his  services  at  a  time  when 
they  were  so  sorely  needed,  we  each  and  all  of 
us  have  lost  a  dear  friend ;  a  great,  good,  honest, 
noble-hearted  friend  whom  we  all  loved.  Our 
love  for  him  is  the  great  cause  of  our  heartfelt 
grief. 

Upon  our  nation's  roll  of  honor,  side  by  side 
with  that  of  the  immortal  Washington,  let  us 
place  the  name  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  let  us 
pray  to  the  Supreme  Ruler,  that    the    exigencies 


DEATH    OF    TUESIDENT    LINCOLN.  3d 


of  our  country  may  nevermore  need  that  a  third 
should  be  added  to  those   two 

.  .  .  .  "  immortal  names, 
That  were  not  born  to  die!" 

The  message  of  the  Mayor  having  been  read,  the  reso- 
lutions adopted  by  the  Board  of  Aldermen  were  then 
submitted  to  the  Common  Council.  Their  passage  by 
this  branch  of  the  City  Council  was  advocated  by  Messrs. 
Clement  Willis  of  Ward  8,  Joseph  Story  of  AVard  5,  Ben- 
jamin Dean  of  Ward  12,  and  Solomon  B.  Stebbins  of 
Ward  10,  who  spoke  most  earnestly  and  appropriately 
on  the  subject.  The  resolutions  were  then  passed  unan- 
imously in  concurrence,  each  member  present  rising  in 
his  place. 

The  Chair  appointed  Messrs.  Solomon  B.  Stebbins  of 
Ward  1U,  Benjamin  Dean  of  Ward  12,  and  Moses  W. 
Richardson  of  Ward  11,  delegates  on  behalf  of  the  Com- 
mon Council  to  attend  the  funeral  obsequies  at  Wash- 
ington. And  the  President  of  the  Common  Council, 
together  with  Messrs.  Joseph  Story  of  Ward  5,  John 
C.  Haynes  of  Ward  9,  Sumner  Crosby  of  Ward  12, 
William  D.  Park  of  Ward  7,  and  Solomon  B.  Stebbins  of 


DEATH    OF   I»KESIDENT   LINCOLN.  35 


Ward  10,  were  joined  to  the  Committee  of  Arrangements 

for  tlie  proposed  eulogy  on  the  illustrious  deceased. 
The  Common  Council  then  adjourned. 

Attest:  W.  P.  GREGG.   Clerk. 


MR*  >jv.r"- .-:..'  an 

■ 

ifl  ■■ 

■■■■■  ■■■ 

1 

■        ■ 

■ 


H 


^1 


PPWJPPP 


PJSM 


!^HP"P^ 


:       M''W    ..i^n^if. 


pjiWmj&kt\Vfi\ 


